Performance evaluation of Wied Dalam (WDD) seismic station in Malta

Authors: Matthew R. Agius, Sebastiano D'Amico, Pauline Galea, Francesco Panzera

Corresponding: Matthew R. Agius (matthew.agius@um.edu.mt)

Keywords: WDD station, quality control, seismic am- bient noise, power spectral density, probability density function, site effect.

Doi: http://dx.medra.org/10.7423/XJENZA.2014.1.11

Issue: Xjenza Online Vol. 2 Iss. 1 - March 2014

Abstract:
The continual operation of a permanent seismograph, now exceeding a couple of decades in some cases, naturally involves changes of hardware and soft- ware over time. Nonetheless, the long-term, consistent performance of the seismic station, and the good quality of its data, is very important for national seismic stud- ies investigating the local seismicity, and also important for the international seismological community research- ing regional tectonics and deep Earth structures. Here we investigate the data availability and quality of the currently only seismic station on Malta (WDD) since its installation in 1995, and establish spectral patterns in the seismic data that may be in uenced by diurnal vari- ations, seasonal weather changes, and/or site-specic settings. The results are important for the future de- ployment of permanent seismic stations on the Maltese islands, and for the analysis of local seismic hazard and ground motion studies.

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